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A war memorial commemorating the first serious loss of New Zealand lives in overseas conflict will be rededicated this month.
More than a century after the bloody Boer War battle at Langverwacht in South Africa, the New Zealand war memorial there is to have a rededication ceremony.
Next Sunday, senior officials from New Zealand and South Africa will pay tribute to the 23 New Zealanders who died at Langverwacht in February 1902.
The Langverwacht Memorial is just over an hour's drive south of Johannesburg, marking where soldiers of the Mounted Rifles 7th Contingent died in one of the bloodiest battles of a bitter war.
A further 40 men of the 80-strong contingent were injured, illustrating the ferocity of the fighting, much of which was hand-to-hand combat.
From late 1900, the Boers had adopted new tactics of engagement by breaking up into small commando-style units.
They abandoned heavy equipment, heightened their mobility, and by using guerrilla tactics they managed to remain in control of much of the former Boer republics.
In response, British General Horatio Kitchener created numerous mobile columns, of which New Zealanders formed a formidable part, fighting in a number of successful skirmishes and regaining territory.
On February 23, 1902, the New Zealand 7th Contingent were "dug in" along the ridge of Langverwacht Hill. Using darkness for cover, it unleashed a stampede of cattle as a diversion.
More than 700 Boers hurled themselves at the New Zealand positions, with the close-quarter fighting drawing heavy casualties to both sides.
As well as the 23 New Zealand fatalities, 50 Boers were killed and several hundred taken prisoner.
The South Island companies within the 7th Contingent suffered disproportionately with 10 of the dead from Canterbury and six from Otago and Southland.
The New Zealanders were singled out for praise by General Kitchener, who remarked on their gallantry and resolution.
In 1905, a memorial cairn on the Langverwacht ridge was constructed that listed the New Zealanders by name.
Three oak saplings were planted to act as shade, and to symbolise the strength, constancy and long life of what was then the British Empire.
Nearly a century later an oak tree fell, smashing the stone cairn.
New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner Mike Walsh led efforts to ensure the memorial was restored, leading to the rededication ceremony.
The ceremony of the unveiling of a memorial tablet will include the playing of the Last Post and Reveille.
- NZPA
